Alex Rodriguez: Hall of Famer?

Some of you think that Bonds deserves to be. And Clemens. And McGwire. We've had some battle royales about it.

A-Rod, too?

 

That'll go A1 at the Times.

And yes, because one of two things will happen:

1) Writers will come to grips with the steroid era and start voting in guys like Bonds and Clemens (not sure about McGwire) and thus the obstacle will be cleared;

or

2) Writers will continue to be obstinate jackasses and the Hall will take away their vote and bring its election procedures in-house.

 

If he gets in, the others get in. Bonds might get in without the steroid stuff, but you let Alex in, you open the doors pretty wide.

But you the doors cracked, not many are getting in.

 

Yes, he gets in, posthumously, along with Rose and Bonds

 

Multiple suspensions will be hard to come back from.

I think the voters will be more forgiving of Bonds and Clemens than they will be of A-Rod.

 

Which is ridiculous but probably accurate.

 

I think the better question at this point is how many people out there will get into the Hall of Fame without controversy?

Jeter, Griffey, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Rivera, Hoffman, Biggio, Raines (assuming he gets in), Morris (assuming he gets in) Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez.

 

Frank Thomas

 

I definitely agree. As stupid as it sounds, because I'm not disputing on any level that Clemens and Bonds (among others) used PEDs, but I think them not getting suspended could be the difference between them getting in and not getting in.

I think it could also help that most people believe that Bonds and Clemens were clean for a portion of their career. I don't think anyone has any reason to think A-Rod has ever been clean since he started his career in the middle of the steroid era.

 

Probably. Thomas benefits from always being big, so it's not like people can point to a stretch in his career when he gained 30 pounds of muscle during the off-season.

 

Jim Thome too. And Pujols' name has danced around the whole issue for a while, but ultimately he is thought clean (so far). I also think Cabrera sails. With the caveat that anybody's name could come up at any time.

 

I don't know if you ever dealt with him, but he's also this strangely principled guy. It's hard to even explain. He's selfish in that he cared desperately about his own numbers and, frankly, his own paycheck. And he wouldn't let you get a question out because he always thought he knew what you were asking. I don't know if that was arrogance or impatience or what.

And, yet, with all those bad qualities, all those quirks, he's just not a guy I believe would go to the mat against steroid use like he did had he actually done it. He's honest and forthright to a fault. I don't know what he's capable of it. Not of doing them to begin with and certainly not of standing there and pontificating about it having done them.